A Strange Figure
He was quite a striking man, about six feet in height, with long brown hair that was tied back in a loose ponytail by a scarlet ribbon. His face was long and extremely pale. He was dressed in all black, save for the red silk cape that hung elegantly at his side. His blue eyes scanned the passersby as anxiously as a predator watching its prey. It only took one fleeting glace to realize this man was up to no good.
Inspector Daniel Simpson glared angrily at his mounting paperwork. He hated having to file his old cases for his boss, because he felt it was an unecessary and tedious job. To make matters worse, the heat in his office went out, leaving him freezing despite the fact he was wearing a sweatshirt and his beat up black leather jacket. Just as he was thinking about calling it a day, the interom light on his desk began flashing.
"Yeah chief?" Dan asked into the small black box. "Yes sir," and with a groan, Dan pushed himself away from his desk.
Before leaving his office, he glanced at himself in the mirror that hung on the back of his door, and grunted in disgust at his disheveled appearence. His thick blond hair which was beginning to grey at the temples, and was usually immaculate, hung sloppily in his piercing blue eyes.
His navy blue police pants and black shoes looked completely out of place with his hunter green sweatshirt and black jacket.
In attempt to make himself more presentable, Dan ran one his muscular hands through his hair. With that, he made his way out of his office, and walked down the long corridor of Scotland Yard until he came to a mahogony door with a highly burnished gold name plate that read, 'Michael Davidson, Chief of Police.' Gently, Dan knocked on the door.
"Come in!" A gruff voice said from behind the door.
Dan did as he was told, and stepped into the dimly lit office of Michael Davidson.
Davidson chuckled when he saw Dan's appearence. "Trying to start a new fashion trend Danny?"
Daniel Simpson glared at his superior officer. "In case you haven't noticed Michael, the heat went out."
Davidson chuckled good naturedly. "The matience men said it should be back on within the hour."
Dan grunted a reply and flopped down in the well worn brown leather chair across from the Chief of Police's desk. "I'm sure you didn't call me in here for a good laugh. What's up?"
Michael Davidson smiled and removed his silver cigarette from his shirt pocket. "Cigarette?"
Inspector Simpson shook his head. "You know I don't smoke Michael. Now what is it you wanted?"
The Chief of Police took his time lighting his cigarette. He took a long drag on it and leaned foward. "I've tried your patience long enough Dan. Before you came in here, I was on the phone with my nephew Erik, the top dog of the police force in Manhattan, New York City."
"And?"
"Well, Erik recieved a call this morning that completely unnerved him. Unnerved him enough to pick up the phone and me here in London, whom he hasn't spoken to in months, and ask for help."
"What did he say?" Dan asked, leaning foward in his chair.
"He didn't give me very many details Dan. He just said a woman called him and he begged be to send my best man to New York City to help him. Well Dan, since you're the best man this force has seen in about twenty years, I would like you to look into this matter for me. Think of it as a personal favor."
Dan sighed and let his head hit the back of the chair. "Is your nephew the type to overreact to situations?"
Quickly, Michael Davidson shook his head. "No, he's not. He's the only one from that side of the family that's got a good head on his shoulders."
Daniel Simpson closed his eyes and said nothing for several minutes. He knew if he took up the case, he'd be in America for several weeks. He also knew he wouldn't be back in London in time for his youngest son, Jason's tenth birthday party. Finally, with a sigh of resignation, he agreed to look into the problem.
The look of elation on his friend's face was unmatchable. "Thank you very much Dan. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."
Dan smiled. "Don't worry, I'll think of something."
"I'll see you back here tonight, around five o'clock? By that time, I'll have all your arrangements made."
With a final nod, Daniel Simpson walked out of his friend's office and into the parking lot where his car was parked.
Ch. 2
Breaking the News to his Family
As soon as Dan got into his car, he switched on the radio and turned the volume up in attempt to block out his own thoughts.
Ten minutes later, he pulled into his driveway. He switched off the radio and turned the motor off. With a heavy sigh, Dan stepped out of his car and walked to his fron door.
"Dad!" Hasib cried when he heard Dan's footsteps in the hall. The nine year old boy jumpped into his father's arms.
"Hello Jason," he said setting his son down and rumpling his sandy blond hair. "What's this, no school today?"
The young boy shook his head, and his blond hair fell into his blue eyes. "We had a snow day!"
"Lucky you," Dan said with a grin.
"Dad, guess what! Three more days until my birthday party. What magic tricks are you going to do?"
"A dissappearing act," Dan thought sadly to himself. "We have to talk about that."
Jason's huge smile suddenly faded. "What's wrong Dad?"
Daniel Simpson could not bring himself to break his son's heart. "Well...uh...I can't figure out what tricks to do. You wanna help me?"
"Awesome! Let's go to my room so we can decide! I want to look at all of your magic tricks so we can pick out the best ones for the party."
"Sure thing buddy, but I just want to say hello to Nancy first. How about you go in your room and set up a couple of tricks?"
Jason favored his father with a huge smile and then ran off in the direction of his bedroom.
With a feeling of dread, Dan climbed the seventeen stairs that led to the master bedroom he and his wife shared. Very gently, he opened the door and peeked inside.
He saw his wife sound asleep in bed, her reddish brown hair hung in her face, and she was blissfully unaware of it. [click here to keep on reading!]